ANF shares jumped 32% after a second-quarter beat and raised guidance. A one-time tariff-refund benefit accounted for roughly $1.75 of the company's $4.17 in per-share earnings.
Abercrombie & Fitch reported second-quarter net sales of $1.267 billion, up 5% year over year, with total comparable sales flat. Diluted earnings per share came in at $4.17, both on a reported and adjusted basis. Operating margin was 19.9% reported and 13.9% adjusted, a gap driven by a roughly $100 million tariff-refund benefit that contributed 790 basis points to operating margin and $1.75 to earnings per share.
The company raised full-year guidance: sales growth of approximately 5%, operating margin of 14.5% to 15.0%, earnings per share of $13.10 to $13.60, and buybacks of at least $500 million. Third-quarter guidance calls for sales growth of 5% to 6% and earnings per share of $2.90 to $3.20. Shares closed at $143.97, up 32.2% from $108.90.
The composition underneath the headline is more mixed than the stock reaction suggests. Total comparable sales were flat, and two core segments moved in the wrong direction: EMEA comps fell 4% and Hollister comps fell 3%. The tariff refund is genuine, disclosed cash, not an accounting artifact, and it flows through to real margin and real earnings this quarter and, per the raised guidance, into the full year. But it is a one-time item, not a recurring sales driver, and roughly 42% of this quarter's per-share result traces to it alone.
A raised full-year guide with a confirmed $500 million buyback commitment is a real, positive signal independent of its composition. Investors extrapolating this quarter's growth rate forward should account for a benefit that will not repeat at this scale, and watch whether EMEA and Hollister comps stabilize once the tariff tailwind rolls off the year-over-year comparison.